A secretariat has been launched for the “Car-Free Tuesdays" campaign in Tehran’s District 6.
Established at the suggestion of Tehran Municipality's Public Relations Office, it is tasked with arranging special events to promote the habit-changing campaign among the public, Tasnim News Agency reported.
The campaign aims to encourage people to ditch their cars in favor of cleaner modes of transportation for at least one day a week.
The Car-Free Tuesdays campaign was thought up in December 2015 by environmentalists in Arak, Markazi Province, who were fed up with the lack of action to curb air pollution. It is focused on raising awareness about the role of the general public in reducing air pollution.
Since then, various cities in every province have adopted the campaign, with varying levels of commitment.
Further Measures
In a related initiative to promote biking as a cleaner mode of transportation among the public, TM has implemented several measures that have been welcomed by the people.
The move to promote biking in Iran’s major cities was launched about two years ago. To encourage bicycles as a mode of transportation in Tehran, Mashhad and Yazd, a project was launched to set up bike lending centers and provide bicycles in educational centers and travel zones.
In Tehran, 50 terminals were set up across the city, mostly in crowded downtown areas and near subway stations and tourist sites, to offer a total of 7,000 gearless bicycles. The terminals are still situated at several main city squares, including Tohid, Enqelab and Azadi.
In addition, TM launched four bike lanes in the capital's District 6 and 7, along Taleqani, Karimkhan, Iranshahr and Mofatteh streets in the center of the city.
Earlier in March, Tehran Municipality said it will invest 170 billion rials ($1.2 million) to develop biking facilities.
“TM's share of the fiscal 2019-20 budget bill is 189.3 trillion rials ($1.4 billion), of which over 89% or 169.05 billion rials ($1.2 million) are to be spent on promoting non-motorized transport,” Sakineh Ashrafi, a member of Tehran City Council, told ISNA.
Non-motorized transportation (also known as active transportation and human-powered transportation) includes walking and bicycling.
"The money for promoting human-powered transportation will be spent on promoting biking, establishing new bicycle lanes and renovating the existing lanes,” she said.
Ashrafi noted that biking is a green mode of transportation, which helps curb traffic congestion and improve air quality.
